Aftereffects
We agreed to take two full days off without entering any dungeon before parting ways. The Orc dungeon that had been under Nargul’s command was undergoing drastic changes, so it was necessary to observe how things developed.
“But we still need to get the greatsword…!”
Yeonhee suddenly remembered, but it wasn’t urgent. We could pick it up tomorrow or the day after. We headed straight home. After taking a bath, she ran over, rested her head on my lap, and immediately fell fast asleep.
She could have just gone to her room…
Huff… huff…
She must be exhausted.
She had pushed her abilities to the limit for nearly a week. The aftereffects were bound to be severe.
Swoosh—
I gently stroked her hair and ears. Even in her sleep, she smiled brightly as if it felt good. Then my eyes caught on her stretched-out T-shirt.
Why doesn’t she throw away clothes that are this worn and stretched?
It was a bit heartbreaking. Maybe it was a habit from growing up poor. But the deep cleavage revealed between the loose fabric kept drawing my gaze.
I must endure…
I silently recited the Heart Sutra—which I couldn’t even remember properly—and decided it would be better to focus elsewhere. I began taking out the loot from my inventory one by one.
Whoa… what is this?
Every time my Obsession trait organized things, I had wondered what it was doing. Now that I saw it, I understood.
Monster mana stones were naturally jagged and irregular in shape. But the ones Obsession had sorted were perfectly trimmed into rectangles, aligned with terrifying precision, even stacked in neat rows.
……I don’t even dare touch them.
It felt like I’d get scolded if I messed them up. There were even custom cases with perfectly fitted grooves for the stones. Set after set kept coming out.
Trait Obsession cannot hide its anxiety upon seeing the disordered mana stones…
……I only took them out. What the hell…
In the end, I had no choice but to roughly estimate the value of each set.
Just the mana stones and runes alone come to about 720 million won. Are you kidding me?
The biggest profit came unexpectedly from the mana stones and runes we received in exchange for trading with the Big Boar. We hadn’t cashed them in yet, but they accounted for more than half the total value.
On top of that, we still had to receive compensation from the people who cleared the hidden dungeon with us—meat, Irmana’s water, and Ttungi’s club. Bae Jua had promised to collect every last bit.
If we included that, the total might exceed a billion won. It really was like winning the lottery.
Hmm… I should use the money first to move to that place I looked at before…
Now that we had funds, my head filled with all sorts of plans. But the first thing I needed to decide was which reward to choose from helping Yeonhee grow.
Hmm— It has to be Flame Explosion.
After using it several times near the end of this dungeon, I had become completely obsessed with the skill. Its overwhelming destructive power and instant-death ability were truly incredible…
But if I had to point out one flaw, it was the range. Since the flames erupted upward into the sky, it showed some limitations against giant creatures like the mutated Giant Skeleton.
Of course, if I landed five hits, that absurdly massive being would come and swallow the target whole. But not every monster had such a stupid and simple attack pattern like the one we faced this time.
Stacking Flame Slash twenty-five times to trigger instant death would be nearly impossible against humanoid enemies…
I thought of Jo Giman. Landing twenty-five hits—not even one, but twenty-five—on that monstrous bastard? Impossible.
I still haven’t been able to test the self-destruct ability.
It was good that I hadn’t needed to use it, but I couldn’t help being curious about what kind of power it held. It was definitely stronger than Flame Explosion.
Still, the dagger quest was almost finished, and my level had reached 58. Things were going smoothly. The only scary part was the possibility that the next class advancement quest would be just as ridiculous.
It’s already past nine.
Since the sweet night I’d spent with Yeonhee, I hadn’t used Mimicry. I planned to use it now to check the neighborhood’s security.
I was worried that the Blue Eye bastards might have pulled something again and filled the area with their “teeth.”
But just as I was about to activate Mimicry, I felt a disturbing sensation.
……Who is it.
Someone was watching us. More precisely, they seemed to be observing Yeonhee…
They’re stealthy. So stealthy I wouldn’t sense them as a living being. If I hadn’t been hypersensitive from several days of suffering, I might have missed it.
One person was quietly scanning Yeonhee’s room, moving like a living shadow. From the silhouette, it looked like a woman… Hmm. Impressive.
The ability to look inside the room… Is that Penetration?
The shadow-like woman alternated her gaze between Yeonhee and me, beginning to take notes.
My gut tells me reacting right now would cause a much bigger problem.
My body wanted to rush out and reveal who this person was, but that was impossible.
A-grade… Maybe even higher.
The shadow was a powerhouse who had reached a realm far beyond mine. The gap was so clear there was no point guessing who would win. If I made even the slightest unnatural movement, that shadow might immediately charge in and harm Yeonhee.
This was when being a skeleton was convenient. With no biological activity, I could remain perfectly still like a statue.
Go away. Just leave already.
Whether my wish reached them or not, the shadow soon vanished. It rapidly moved beyond the range of my senses, then disappeared completely as if its very existence had been erased.
Does it have some kind of teleportation ability too…? What an exhausting type.
It was clearly a technique that allowed movement across space. The way it melted into the shadows suggested it could travel to a designated location through them…
I recalled hearing about someone with that kind of ability before.
Back when I was trapped in a dungeon with Hyeon Jung-gil for a month, he had casually mentioned it. It was one of those secret stories we could only share because we had sworn an oath to each other.
He said there was a shadow organization inside the guild that didn’t take orders from anyone…
The look in Hyeon Jung-gil’s eyes as he spoke had been filled with deep regret.
Hmm… Ilseom is the most likely suspect, but could there be others?
Besides Ilseom, there were countless organizations and individuals who might want to monitor us. The Association, Jo Giman, Kang Yeonsu, Apex—they could all be suspects, but it was hard to imagine any of them possessing someone with this level of ability.
Or maybe the Blue Eye organization has marked us…? The possibility is slim, but I can’t rule it out.
The shadow cloak they wore connected naturally with this kind of ability. We had eliminated every Blue Eye member we encountered, but perhaps someone from the dungeon roster had taken notice of us.
Still, combining what I heard from Hyeon Jung-gil with recent events, Ilseom remained the strongest candidate.
Let’s assume it’s Ilseom for now.
I sat quietly, stroking my chin in thought.
Let’s see… Why would Hyeon Jung-seop be monitoring us?
If it wasn’t Hyeon Jung-gil, then the only one in the Ilseom Guild capable of running such an organization was Hyeon Jung-seop. Would such a big shot personally order intelligence gathering on lowly hunters like us? That seemed unlikely.
……Heo Min-sol?
If I had to find a connection, she was the only one. If it really was her, her obsession was terrifying.
I used Yeonhee’s sleeping fingers to search on her phone.
Hmm… Ilseom, investigation, Heo Min-sol, hunter, special forces.
I threw in rough keywords and searched.
Whoa… She really got arrested?
There were a few short articles that clearly referred to Heo Min-sol.
Female hunter H from Ilseom Guild, multiple school violence incidents exposed, involved in three Ilseom Guild suicide cases, taken into custody by Special Forces, investigation ongoing—
The articles were published the day after we entered the dungeon.
……
Had Ham Eun-yeong’s request to her grandmother produced results? Eun-yeong had said her grandmother gave a positive reply, and since her grandmother was known for having a very impatient personality, the odds were high.
Ham Eun-yeong’s connections are no joke…? Is this the power of authority?
A colossal force capable of reversing pressure from the Ilseom Guild after they had already entered the Special Forces. If I had to rank that power as a skill, it would easily be SSS-grade.
I’ll have to treat Eun-yeong really well from now on… I hope she doesn’t hold a grudge about me throwing her that time.
I felt a cold sweat that couldn’t possibly exist on my back. I should earnestly hope that No Hayun keeps making Eun-yeong happy.
Ever since I forcibly paired them, the two had slowly begun talking. Today when we parted, they even left work together. I had no idea what they were up to, but I hoped it worked out well.
She seemed a bit scared of her grandmother… but maybe not as much as I thought.
It was clear that Ham Eun-yeong was cherished by her grandmother. After all, she had handed over that monstrous creature from the mirror as a bodyguard. That said everything.
I should ask Helen to gather some information.
I decided to wrap up that matter for now. It was time to use Mimicry and check whether there were any other immediate threats.
Mimicry — Guide Yun Han-gyeol
……Nothing.
I felt strangely deflated. The unsettling atmosphere had continued, so I had been prepared to find two or three more “crystals tainted with malice” like last time.
Whew— Then let’s check just one more thing before choosing.
I needed to test the Forgotten Ancient Swordsmanship and decide which ability to level up.
I went up to the rooftop and partially skeletonized only my left arm, transforming it into the form of a greatsword. I gripped the crude, palm-extended greatsword tightly with both hands and swung it down with all my strength.
Whoooosh—!
The sound of the greatsword cutting through the air carried considerable weight. Ten swings became a hundred.
What the…?
Something felt off. I should have felt some kind of change after acquiring the trait, but…
It’s exactly the same?
Even when I tried the thrusting technique used by Natalan Jackmon, there was no aura or surprising destructive power.
Hmm— What could it be?
I paused for a moment to think, but no clear answer came to mind. In the end, my reasoning was replaced by the simple thought that something would happen if I just kept going.
While maintaining vigilance around me in my Mimicry state, I continued partial skeletonization on my left hand and swordsmanship training.
Am I pushing too hard?
I didn’t feel strained yet, but anyone watching would say I was overdoing it.
Ah, whatever!
When the number of swings exceeded a hundred, then three hundred, and finally approached five hundred—
[Pffft—]
……
I started hearing hallucinations.